The Father of Modern Science Galileo Galilei was charged with heresy for believing in the Copernican System, or heliocentrism: the idea the sun is the center of the solar system. To escape the worst of punishments he was forced to publicly state that he would completely abandon heliocentrism. It is said that as he was pronouncing the sun to be stationary he snidely remarked, “And yet it moves.” This act of great defiance demonstrates his unwillingness to accept false ideas. Galileo’s ability to challenge established science and his commitment to pursuing what he knew to be true made him one of the most important Renaissance figures. His contributions as an astronomer, philosopher and scientist had a pivotal influence on how we understand …show more content…
In 1586, he revealed his method for weighing precious metals in a book titled ‘The Little Balance.’ “...he described an accurate balance for weighing things in air and water…(T)he proportion of metals like gold to silver in the object could be read off directly.” (Williams/4) He developed a compass called a sector. The sector offered a quicker way of finding the ratio of cannonball to gunpowder. The thermoscope, an early thermometer, relied on the expansion and contraction of air in a bulb to move water to an attached tube. Galileo also created a numeric scale that could measure temperature. It measured heat in air and provided meteorological information for the first time ever. The thermoscope was a major breakthrough. (Matt Williams) He identified many properties of air resistance and falling objects and presented the first theory of relativity: most of these advancements contradicted the ancient ideas of Aristotle. (Famous Scientists) Most impressively of all, Galileo invented an incredibly powerful telescope. This telescope allowed him to make astronomical feats. He discovered the first ever moons to orbit a planet other than earth. These were 4 moons of Jupiter; Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Castillo which are known as the Galilean Satellites in his honor. He discovered that Venus has phases like a moon, the beginnings of observational evidence that the sun is the center of the solar system. He also discovered other planets and moons have geographical features like mountains and valleys. In addition, he learned that the Milky Way is made of stars. Galileo was the first person to see the planet Neptune, although he did this unknowingly. This telescope turned out to be a mixed blessing for the triumphant inventor. On one hand he was blessed with fame and money: he was given a large sum of money from Naval Arsenal of Venice for